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What happens when outdated data, guesswork, and fragmented outreach stand between you and the accounts that actually matter?
With third-party cookies on their way out and B2B buyer journeys growing increasingly non-linear, it’s time to rethink your approach. Getting the right accounts isn’t just a priority, it’s the foundation of effective pipeline growth.
So why are so many teams still chasing leads with blindfolds on? Your targeting stack must evolve. Start with reliable first-party data, then amplify your reach with real-time intent signals that reflect actual buyer behavior. This layered approach improves precision, enhances timing, and drives smarter engagement, long before your competitors even show up.
• A recent report by Forrester found that, 68% of B2B buyers research independently, most buyers are already evaluating solutions before they speak to sales. You need real-time intent data to know when they’re in-market.
• 75% expect personalized engagement, relevance matters. Buyers want outreach tailored to their needs—not a templated pitch.
• Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that, 80% of marketers will abandon third-party data by 2025. With third-party cookies fading, first-party data and intent signals are the future of targeting and personalization.
This article unpacks what a best-in-class targeting stack looks like, why first-party and intent data are your most strategic assets, and how to synchronize both for accelerated lead generation.
A B2B targeting stack isn’t just a combination of tools—it’s the strategic backbone of effective revenue generation. At S2W Media, we define a targeting stack as the integrated framework of data, technology, and human insight that enables marketing and sales teams to identify, segment, and engage high-value prospects with precision.
But a powerful stack is more than the sum of its parts. It’s not just about having software, it’s about how well you understand your buyers, how quickly you can activate first-party and intent data, and how consistently you refine your approach based on real behavior.
Too many teams rely on outdated firmographics, third-party lists, or guesswork, leading to inflated ad spend, underperforming outreach, and missed opportunities. A weak stack doesn’t just slow you down, it misdirects your focus.
A well-built targeting stack, anchored in first-party insights and fueled by intent signals, helps your SDRs and marketers align efforts around the right accounts at the right time. The result?
• Sharper segmentation
• More relevant outreach
• Higher engagement
• A pipeline that converts
At S2W Media, we don’t just help you build the stack, we help you activate it to turn targeting into tangible outcomes.
First-party data is data you collect directly from your audience. That includes behavioral signals like:
• Website activity (page views, downloads, session duration)
• Email engagement (opens, clicks, unsubscribes)
• CRM data (lead source, deal stage, past interactions)
• Event attendance and form fills
Unlike third-party data, which is aggregated and often anonymized, first-party data is accurate, consent-based, and specific to your brand.It gives you direct insight into how prospects interact with your digital properties and how engaged they are in the buying journey.
Example: A cybersecurity firm we worked with saw a 45% increase in SQL conversion rate after integrating first-party signals from their resource hub into their scoring model.
Intent data reveals which businesses are actively researching or showing interest in specific topics across the web—before they land on your site.
There are two primary types:
• Behavioral Intent: Behavioral intent is gathered from a user’s content consumption across third-party websites driven by the content syndication approach . This includes reading articles, watching videos, or downloading assets related to specific business topics.
Data providers like Bombora and G2 Crowd monitor these activities across a network of partner sites, identifying which companies are actively researching relevant topics. These signals help marketers uncover early buying interest from accounts that may not have engaged with their brand yet.
• Declared Intent: Declared intent, on the other hand, comes from direct engagement with your brand. When a user fills out a form, registers for a webinar, downloads gated content, or requests a demo, they’re actively expressing interest. These actions offer clear, trackable signals that a lead is open to further communication, making declared intent a critical input for lead qualification and sales follow-up.
Both types of intent data provide marketers with powerful insights into prospect behavior and interest, enabling more precise targeting and timely engagement across the buyer journey. Layering intent data into your stack means you’re no longer targeting based on static firm graphics. You’re prioritizing accounts based on lead score that are actually in-market and doing it at scale.
Insight: According to Gartner, B2B buyers spend only 17% of their journey meeting with sales reps. Intent data helps identify and engage them during the silent 83%.
The real power emerges when you unify first-party and intent data.
Here’s how that synergy works:
• Intent data flags which accounts are actively researching your solution category.
• First-party data reveals which of those accounts are engaging with your brand.
• Together, they enable high-confidence lead scoring, segmentation, and outreach.
Use Case: A client running ABM campaigns identified surging interest in “cloud migration tools” via Bombora. Cross-referencing CRM data showed Account X had visited three pricing pages. The SDR team launched a personalized sequence and booked a meeting within 48 hours.
To build a scalable, insight-rich targeting stack, you need tools that cover three essential layers:
• Tools: Segment, Google Tag Manager, Hubspot, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)
• Capture behavioral data, web analytics, and audience attributes in real time.
• Tools: Bombora, G2 Buyer Intent, ZoomInfo, Clearbit
• Append firmographic and technographic details. Identify surging intent based on content consumption across the web.
• Tools: Salesforce, Marketo, Outreach, LinkedIn Ads
• Run personalized campaigns. Orchestrate handoffs between marketing and sales with precision.
Insight: Prioritize integrations—your stack should support real-time data syncs, API connections, and centralized reporting to avoid silos.
Even the best tools fall short without a strategic foundation. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid:
With GDPR and CCPA, data collection must be transparent and permission-based. Ensure your first-party strategy includes clear consent management.
Collecting too much data without a segmentation strategy leads to analysis paralysis. Focus on signal, not noise.
If marketing qualifies based on MQLs while sales only values SQLs, targeting efforts can fall flat. Ensure shared definitions and scoring criteria.
Solution: Align early. Involve sales in defining high-intent behaviors and campaign triggers based on combined first-party and intent signals.
Modern platforms are now using AI to score leads by analyzing engagement patterns, intent signals, and fit. This automates prioritization and surfaces high-potential accounts, enabling teams to focus efforts where conversion likelihood is highest. Predictive scoring is quickly becoming essential in every serious go-to-market strategy.
As third-party cookies disappear, identity resolution helps unify buyer behavior across touchpoints. Data clean rooms allow marketers to enrich profiles using shared data securely and compliantly, unlocking deeper insights while preserving privacy.
Targeting stacks must evolve alongside changing buyer behavior. Conduct quarterly audits to refine scoring models, assess tech performance, and ensure alignment with your current ICP. Optimization isn’t a one-time task—it’s a growth discipline.
Building a high-performing B2B targeting stack isn’t just a marketing exercise—it’s a strategic imperative. With buyer journeys becoming more complex and data signals more fragmented, performance and ROI hinge on how intelligently you integrate AI-driven targeting, secure identity resolution, and continuous optimization into your stack.
At S2W Media, we help marketing and revenue teams operationalize this precision—combining first-party data, intent intelligence, and predictive scoring to prioritize high-fit accounts and accelerate pipeline. But technology alone isn’t enough. The stack you build must be intentional, future-ready, and deeply aligned with your go-to-market strategy.
If you’re serious about maximizing conversions and delivering measurable ROI, now is the time to rethink your targeting infrastructure.
Let’s build your high-impact B2B targeting stack—designed for results.
Contact us to unlock the power of first-party and intent data for performance-driven lead generation.
Discover how aligning first-party data with intent signals builds a high-performance B2B targeting stack that drives precision, personalization, and ROI.
